Frozen White-Chocolate Christmas Bombe

Thanks for all your comments about how you spent Christmas. I loved reading how you celebrated.

As promised, here is my mother’s white chocolate bombe recipe. I’m not sure how long she’s been making this but I’m sure it’s been on our table every Christmas for at least 25 years. Back then my mother was always scouring newspapers and magazines for the latest recipes and food trends. Her favourites were cut out and put in plastic sleeves and placed in the bottom kitchen drawer and that’s where this recipe has been for more than two decades.

This recipe has come from a magazine but it’s impossible to tell which one! There is an advertisement for Orrefors glass salad bowls on the reverse side so that would let you know that it’s probably from the early 80’s. Who remembers the Orrefors phase? I think all 80’s brides scored a few as wedding presents.

I would love you to try this bombe because for the home-cook this recipe certainly has a lot going for it. It’s a no-bake recipe, it can be made in advance, it’s beautifully creamy and has contrasting textures and flavours with all the fruits and nuts, it’s gluten-free, it never fails to attract attention when presented at a table, and for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the closest we’ll get to having something that looks a bit like a white Christmas. But be warned, it is very rich and so we only sit down to this when wearing loose-fitted clothing and certainly nothing requiring a belt.

Into the mould now into the freezer

Applying a finishing touch

Ready to serve

Frozen White-Chocolate Christmas Bombe

Serves: 10-12

Degree of Difficulty: 2/5

Cost: This isn’t cheap to make because of the glace fruits involved however it is a great way to use up leftover dried and glace fruits in your fridge and pantry.

Begin this recipe a day ahead.

125g glace figs, chopped

125g glace pineapple, chopped

125g red and green glace cherries, halved

185g sultanas

185g raisins

125g toasted hazelnuts, chopped

60g flaked toasted almonds

1/2 cup rum

100g block white chocolate, roughly chopped

1/4 cup cream

500g cream cheese

300g sour cream

3/4 cup cream, extra

2 tspns gelatine

1 tbspn warm water

Raspberry Sauce

500g frozen raspberries

2 tbspns sugar

1 tbspn rum

Place figs, pineapple, cherries, sultanas, raisins and nuts in a bowl. Pour over rum and allow to soak for 2 hours or overnight.

Place chocolate and cream (1/4 cup) into top of a double saucepan, stand over simmering water until chocolate has melted. Cool.

To serve, remove from the freezer and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Turn onto a serving plate (not one with flat sides as this is going to melt). Wet a t-towel with hot water and run around the sides of the mould. Bombe should release from the mould. If it doesn’t, turn upright and loosen gently with a metal spatula.

Drizzle with raspberry sauce and decorate with fresh berries. Serve in thin slices as this is very, very rich.

Raspberry Sauce:

Thaw raspberries and place in a blender or food processor. Blend until pureed. Add sugar and rum and blend until combined. Strain through a sieve to remove raspberry seeds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Presentation could have been better but hey, it’s Christmas Eve – on with the show!

What an incredibly festive dessert, Charlie — even though I’m having a difficult time wanting it right now as it’s -4°C! But I’m sure it would be much appreciated in July when it’s closer to 30°C!
Talk about a blast from the past, I do remember Orresfors and yes, we did score a few things for our wedding! My cousin and SIL loved the candlesticks (the one’s with the stripes) I remember thinking how odd they might look in 25 years! And they do, so I’m glad I didn’t score one of those! I still have a lovely crystal bowl and a very heavy crystal vase, but they are much more contemporary design and not at all clown-like!
Merry Christmas to you my dear friend and your lovely family! Hope you have a wonderful, happy and healthy 2014! XOXO

This is an amazing recipe! I’m thrilled to have it, Charlie. I wonder if I’d do better to plan for Christmas year-round. This waiting until November or so doesn’t seem to work for me. I need a Christmas planning board. Hmmm. I just put several of your contributions on my Pinterest boards and maybe I need to review them often. You do amaze me. I honestly don’t know how you do it. But I’m sure glad you do! 🙂

Another stunner–that sounds delicious as well as being pretty. Thanks for sharing. It is always nice to peek into someone else’s traditions and when we are lucky enough to share in them via recipes…well, wow!

This is so perfect for our weather Charlie! And I’m going crazy for all of the fresh fruit and berries that are on offer now. We’re off to buy more today! 😀 Now are you hosting NYE this year too or are you relaxing?

it does look like da bombe! I wonder if people like your mum who collected recipes from magazines many years ago might have been bloggers if the timing had been different – wishing you belated christmas wishes – your christmas eve table looked very classy

We have a frozen pudding too Charlie- so better suited to this hemisphere! Your mums dessert certainly sounds delicious indeed. I have binders of magazine recipes as well, and even have some clipped by my great grandmother when she was a young woman 🙂 x

I had my first ice-cream pudding this year 🙂 Never had one before but after reading your recipe it doesn’t seem too difficult I just need to go get some of the dried fruit and glace fruits as well 🙂 It’s so nice that you are able to share your mother’s recipes with us and for Arabella to be able to go back and look at these recipes again and use them 🙂

What a gorgeous dessert, Charlie! I wouldn’t care that it was rich, I’ve got lots of glace fruit left in my cupboard. I think if I kept to the red colors, this could be really pretty for New Years! I hope you had a most wonderful Christmas!! xx

I love everything about this dessert, Charlie, the “cake”, the berries, fruit, and the sauce. Seeing it served for 25 years, it mustn’t be Christmas for you all until the Bombe is presented. What a wonderful, tasty tradition!

You say the presentation isn’t great, but I think it looks fantastic, both served and in it’s “whole” form. Wouldn’t need to worry about putting it in the freezer here… could just stick it outside the front door, lol! I dunno, I think it’s cold enough at this time of year for me, but it looks like a marvellous thing to eat in the summer (which of course is convenient for you, haha) – something to try in July or August I think!